The Margarita de Tamarindo at La Llorona

Nat King Cole — genius that he was — had a bit of a corny ideal of summer fun.

In his 1963 hit song (#6, Billboard charts) "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer," he famously crooned, "I love those lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer / Those days of sodas and pretzels and beer!"

Admittedly, that was a long time ago. Still: Beer? Sure! Bring it on. But ... sodas and pretzels? Nat! You wild man! I think not.

Can you imagine what would happen if 1963 Nat would have thought had he been magically dropped into the middle of one of those MTV Summer Beach Party specials? Those fiends would have stomped his pretzels into beach sand and laughed him off the karaoke stage when he attempted to rock the mosh pit with his lilting melody and "lazy, hazy, crazy" rhyme scheme.

Well, Nat would be welcome at our house for summer cocktails anytime. We come from the always-warm-and-humid south and have vacationed in pleasant, tropical spots like Cabo San Lucas (before it was bought and ruined by Sammy Hagar) and Puerto Vallarta (where I proposed to a very hungover Eileen), and we KNOW how to gently nuance the Pretzels and Sodas Folks into a mindset of mellow summer enjoyment.

How?

Well, we strongly recommend the delicious and refreshing Margarita de Tamarindo from La Llorona Progressive Cuisine in Niantic. And, yes, they were happy to provide the recipe.

Ingredients

2 oz tequila

1 oz lime juice

2 oz Tamarindo nectar

1 oz agave syrup

Chiltepin salt

1 wedge fresh lime

1 stick Tamarindo candy

Directions

Rub the rim of a glass with a slice of lime and dip in Chiltepin salt. Combine tequila, lime juice, Tamarindo nectar and agave syrup in a shaker with ice and shake till cold. Fill the prepared glass with ice, then strain the drink into the glass. Garnish with lime wedge and insert stick of candy.